Showcasing animals such as monitor lizards, bull snakes, albino boa constrictors and a 28 year old, 70-lb African spurred tortoise named “Father Time,” the McKay’s have been educating audiences across Canada for the last 15 years.
“We love it, this is a dream for Jeff and I to do what we love,” said Safari Shannon after their Sunday afternoon show. “Jeff and I feel great about what we do every single day because we’re encouraging people to do something better for themselves and the planet, and we’re enlightening people.”
Shannon said the show has a family orientation, something they both feel is important.
“It’s almost impossible to do something as a family unit these days where everybody is experiencing the same thing at the same time. What do you do where you can all enjoy something together, where you can all share in the excitement? That’s what our show is — a great family experience. I never call it a children’s show because it’s not, it’s a family experience.”
On tour across the country since February, Shannon said the show is especially significant because it provides a rare opportunity for people to see these kinds of animals up-close without having to travel to major centres.
“It doesn’t happen for a lot of people. When we go to Newfoundland for example we have oceans of people who wait hours and hours to see the show and the animals.”
She added that the attraction “has nothing to do with us, we just present them in a very positive way. The animals are the stars, they’re the celebrities and rightly so — they’re amazing.”
Originally from Ontario, the McKays currently live in the Sonora Desert in British Columbia. They chose the location specifically for their Sulcata tortoise, Father Time, whose native habitat is the Sahara Desert.
Shannon said all the animals in the show are Canadian born and well looked after.
“We deal with animals that are born in Canada and bred in captivity. This is what they’re accustomed to, this is their life. After a full day of being handled their metabolisms are sped up, they eat well they sleep well and we bathe them daily.
“They enjoy that and it’s what they’re used to, so they’re non-aggressive and we don’t need to worry about them in that aspect so much.”
The types of animals used in the show were specifically chosen for their ability to be able to survive outside of their natural environment.
“The majority of our animals are den-dwelling animals, they would live underground. Because we travel with them we have specialized travel bins that are customized for the animals, so when they’re in them they feel secure and comfortable knowing that they’re protected. And this is what they would achieve in their natural environments by being underground in a den or in darkness.”
Iguanas, for example, which live high up in the canopy of the rain forest wouldn’t be suitable, she said, adding that the animals in the show are endangered in their natural habitat.
“All the animals are endangered or protected species in their natural environment because of encroachment, lack of habitat, pollution, you name it. For all of these reasons the animals nowadays are pretty much protected in one fashion or another.”
Having published a few books, the McKays were recently approached by a producer from PBS while in Vancouver and say they will begin filming a television series for the station this winter. The show is scheduled to air in its first season across 15 U.S. states.
